Sensory Bin Ideas for K-2 Classrooms

I had every intention of creating sensory bins last year but sadly never got around to it. This year I was determined to make them for my class!

I had already tried to dye rice last year, but it was just not for me! Instead, I found this rice. Two bags was the perfect amount for these containers.

While I was looking for the rice, I stumbled across colored pasta! I only needed one bag of pasta for the bin.

*Please note, all links are Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for your support!

I wanted my bins to be an independent activity, so I went with the shoebox sized Sterilite containers.

At first the bins simply had the rice or pasta, magnifying glasses and some tools for exploring: shovels, scoops, sifters and measuring cups.

As everything must be fair in Kindergarten, we raffle them off each day using our favorite app: Stick Pick!

We have three little window seats in our room in between our classroom library bins.

After they have chosen their sensory bin, they take it to a window seat and begin to explore!

Now that everyone has had a chance to explore and examine the rice and pasta closely, I wanted to add some new features. We will be kicking off our money unit soon, so I added in a few of each coins and some dollar bills. I also included some tweezers, polyhedral dice, unifix cubes, foam pieces, counting bears and buttons.

I will be honest, the rice one can get messy. Someone dropped the entire container the other day! Everyone helped them clean it up, so it turned out to be a nice teamwork activity. Mess aside, it really is worth it. They truly love exploring, sorting, arranging and studying each bin in detail. 

If you are looking for individual sensory tools, check out my post on making sensory bags. 

Do you use sensory bins with your class? Let me know how in the comments below!